Chapter 23: The Thunder Punishment Heavenly Lord

While leisurely wandering through the Divine Realm to broaden his horizons and contemplate the laws of time, Qiankun would occasionally probe Qin Yu's situation with his divine sense.

Qin Yu, who invented the Array of Qiankun, first accepted an invitation from the Eastern Extreme Sacred Emperor to visit the Eastern Extreme Golden Mountain. Soon after, he became the master of the Lanxuan Hall there, a position second only to the three divine kings of the mountain.

Later, Qin Yu successfully carved out his own universe, delved into the art of forging, conducted countless experiments, and once he achieved mastery, openly declared himself the new master of the Misty Divine Hall. He then traveled to the Northern Extreme Snow City, preparing to participate in the marriage selection of Princess Jiang Li, daughter of the Northern Extreme Sacred Emperor.

This marriage selection caused quite a stir, alarming many divine kings. The Southern Extreme Sacred Emperor's son, Duanmu Yu, even broke through to become a divine king, while Qin Yu forged a top-tier Hongmeng spiritual treasure. Sadly, despite all his efforts and anticipation, the Northern Extreme Sacred Emperor Jiang Fan did not choose him as his son-in-law. Completely enraged, Qin Yu eloped with Jiang Li before all the sacred emperors and divine kings, causing an uproar.

Throughout all this, Qiankun only observed in secret and never intervened. As the saying goes, "Without enduring the bone-chilling cold, how can the plum blossom's fragrance reach one's nose?" The love between Qin Yu and Jiang Li became all the more sincere and precious because of the trials and hardships they endured.

Since Qin Yu could handle everything on his own, Qiankun saw no need to interfere. Besides, even if he did, he doubted he could sway Jiang Fan’s decision.

Time flowed quietly on, and Qiankun continued to observe Qin Yu and the confrontations between the sacred emperors and divine kings of the Divine Realm. He watched as Qin Yu recruited divine king experts Yi Feng and Zuo Qiulin, established the Misty City, and provoked the four divine kings of Thunder Punishment City, even daring to kill the divine kings Zhou Tong and Zhou Wulian.

"Haha... How marvelous! Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable won't be able to sit still now! Too bad—he won't have the chance to act this time," Qiankun laughed, standing atop the head of a serpent tens of thousands of meters long, hands clasped behind his back, gazing toward the Divine Realm continent from the endless waters of the Southern Sea.

Almost simultaneously, heaven and earth trembled, crimson clouds surged, golden light bathed the land, and a soul-stirring rumble shook the world. At that moment, everyone in the Divine Realm paused and gazed upward, witnessing a colossal floating mountain descending from above the crimson clouds. The Celestial Venerable Mountain had at last made its formal arrival.

Feeling the aura of the Celestial Venerable Mountain, Qiankun’s eyes narrowed, his heart stirred by the spectacle. Yet, he felt little interest in the mountain itself. Lin Meng would never let him become a Celestial Venerable, and the title itself held no allure for him. To think of the sacred emperors and divine kings fighting and killing for the chance, only for none of those who entered the mountain to ever become a Celestial Venerable—it was both laughable and tragic!

Though he had no intention of intervening, Qiankun, who had already created his own universe, continued to use the spatial power of his new cosmos to monitor the events within the Celestial Venerable Mountain, treating it as a grand spectacle.

At last, after bloody battles, the most thrilling moment arrived: Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable appeared, and Qin Yu soon followed.

With the temporal power of his new universe, Qin Yu froze time and seized the opportunity to kill Zhou Huo, the Northwestern Sacred Emperor, provoking Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable into a furious attack.

Qin Yu, though powerful, was still no match for Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable, who gravely wounded him with the Celestial Venerable treasure, the Original Sin Sword. Qin Yu escaped from the mountain with a teleportation.

"Mm?" Clearly sensing this scene, Qiankun's gaze flashed coldly. "Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable, do you really think you can harm my disciple?"

Inside the Celestial Venerable Mountain, Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable had just commanded Zhou Xian to recognize the Thunder Source Bead as its master with his blood, when Qiankun, dressed in green robes, appeared abruptly. Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable frowned and looked at him. "Who are you?"

"Zhou An, you truly have audacity. You dare to attack even my disciple, Qiankun's own! Do you really believe that your status as Celestial Venerable allows you to act with impunity?" Qiankun looked at him coldly.

Hearing Qiankun utter his name, Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable’s expression changed. "How...how do you know my name? Who are you?"

"As I said, Qin Yu is my disciple. Who do you think I am? If my disciple suffers, it’s only right that I, as his master, stand up for him," Qiankun replied.

Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable, finally realizing the situation, looked at Qiankun with a darkened expression. "Stand up for him? That depends on whether you have the strength."

As he spoke, Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable’s massive Original Sin Sword trembled, sending forth a blade of energy toward Qiankun.

The sword energy was blindingly fast, leaving Qiankun no chance to dodge—but Qiankun had no intention of evading.

The energy struck Qiankun, dispersing harmlessly, while Qiankun, surrounded by a faint golden glow, remained entirely unscathed. The surrounding sacred emperors and divine kings stared in astonishment.

Even Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable was stunned, staring incredulously at his Original Sin Sword, then at the calm, smiling Qiankun. A tidal wave of disbelief surged in his heart. Even among Celestial Venerables, few would dare take such a blow head-on. Who was this Qiankun? How could his physical body be so strong? To withstand the attack of a Celestial Venerable treasure—did that mean even Celestial Venerables couldn't kill him?

"Zhou An, why not try a move from me?" Qiankun grinned, controlling the spatial power of his inner universe to condense space. As Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable’s expression changed and he hastily invoked his origin power, surging the energy of his Original Sin Sword to break the spatial constraint, Qiankun was already before him, landing a punch on his chest.

With a muffled boom, Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable spat blood and was sent flying in utter disgrace.

Witnessing this, the sacred emperors and divine kings present were collectively speechless. What had they just seen? Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable—a Celestial Venerable—had been beaten into vomiting blood with a single blow. Was Qiankun a Celestial Venerable? A Celestial Venerable stronger than Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable? Could he be the mysterious, unfathomable Piaoyu Celestial Venerable? Yet he called himself Qiankun, not Piaoyu!

"Impossible! How can your physical body be so strong?" Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable, struck by Qiankun’s punch, clearly sensed the immense power of Qiankun’s body. He was nearly beside himself, glaring at Qiankun and shouting in disbelief.

Qiankun shook his head with a snort. "How narrow-minded! Zhou An, you’re just a frog in a well. How could you ever see the vastness of the sky?"

"You..." Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable was so furious he nearly spat blood again. Just as he was about to strike again, he suddenly froze, as if hearing something, his expression shifting from shock to disbelief as he glanced at Qiankun. Then, biting his lip in frustration and unwillingness, he flew away.

Watching his retreating figure, Qiankun squinted, murmuring inwardly, "Did Piaoyu Celestial Venerable intervene?"

"Greetings, Qiankun Celestial Venerable!" The sacred emperors and divine kings inside the Celestial Venerable Mountain, whatever they might think, all paid their respects to Qiankun with utmost reverence.

Qiankun rolled his eyes and waved his hand. "Hey, hey, stop with the titles! What nonsense is this ‘Qiankun Celestial Venerable’? When did I ever say I was a Celestial Venerable? You lot must be obsessed with the idea of becoming one!"

The crowd exchanged perplexed glances, their confusion deepening. Qiankun really didn’t seem to be a Celestial Venerable. Yet he could wound one and force Thunder Punishment Celestial Venerable to back down—the very least, his strength was not less than a Celestial Venerable's. Did this mean one could possess such power without becoming a Celestial Venerable? At this thought, their minds suddenly became lively.

"Senior Qiankun, you must be an ascendant, too, aren’t you?" The Asura Divine King Luo Fan was the first to ask, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.